


Drabble - The Promises We Keep

by Polyphonic



Category: Original Work
Genre: Character Study, First Meetings, Light Angst, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Slow Romance, Space Pirates, gays in space, implied species biases but it’s only briefly mentioned and not explored here, sort of bullying but most implied, teasing and mischief as a love language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27842722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polyphonic/pseuds/Polyphonic
Summary: Two men recover after surviving the aftermath of a catastrophic encounter. One thinks Of the future, one considers the past. Both men make promises to themselves that they intend to follow through with.





	Drabble - The Promises We Keep

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this little WIP Character study surrounding our two protags and how they first met.
> 
> It’s my first time trying to write anything at all really, so feedback is incredibly welcome. Enjoy!

He woke, all at once, to the smell of battery-acid and antiseptic. Josonan had never been plagued by a slow or foggy mind, no orderly needed to ask him his name or confirm the date. And now as he opened his eyes, he felt lucky for it. There were likely no spare staff to do so regardless.  
Quickly he lifted himself, sore and aching, to scan the rest of the room for possible wounded. 

The atmosphere was soft, the windows simulating sometime early in the morning. Artificial light passed through slatted shutters bringing his attention to where they fell; Lines like a blanket over the back of a familiar shape. The disheveled man was sprawled comically against a tiny side table pressed between the bed and corner wall, His uniform utterly ruined with green bits of viscera and gore, dark hair drooping and stuck in all directions, features squished deep into a spare pillow; Stolen, presumably, from one of the other beds. 

Josonan let his eyes soften a moment before taking in the rest of the well-loved infirmary, hefting a sigh of relief when there was no one else interned with them. He noted his jacket, left neatly folded on a chair by the door, and (perhaps less neatly) a new change of bandages around his torso, shoulder and arms. His right hand was a throbbing mess, unusable really, but seemed to be the only truly broken thing on him.

Taking care not to wake his friend, Jasonan eased himself up and towards the door.

Reaching his coat and shrugging it on with substantial effort, he allowed himself a glance back at the table where Arthur lay, snores intermittently punctuating the quiet.

Josonan’s eyebrow quirked imperceptibly; A warm, familiar irritation blooming through his stomach.  
“Insufferable” he huffed, shaking his head. 

How long had it been, since their first mission together? Josonan, for all his rigidity, was never one to track the years, but in this case he had reason to. And in the hobbled decade they had spent together, this had never changed. Arthur would follow Josonan to hell and back it seemed.

The man gave an amused hum while watching the other doze on.  
He made his way carefully to a simple crate, forgotten by the opposite wall. It was a disaster, A random collection of discarded pariphanilia which the ship called it’s “Lost-and-Found”. Quietly he rummaged through the mess till he picked up some kind of fake purple octopus, placing it onto the small table as a joke.

Nothing special.  
It meant nothing to the pirate.

Then he stood, laying a spare blanket onto Arthur’s back, and made for the door.  
[…]

Walking slowly down to Vasilia’s private study josonan stopped, pausing at the sight of her; still in her clothes from the day before and curled tightly in a rather grand leather chair, one arm acting as her only pillow against a desk riddled with paper and rolls of gauze.

Brushing at the velvet drapes to enter the room, Josonan glanced into the dark alcove where Vadilia had originally deposited him. It was an overturned disaster, a toppled bookshelf covering a shattered cacophony of pottery, glass, and other cultural artifacts he tried not to think about. Across the lounge’s black fabric were smears of what he could only imagine were dried bits of him, but that would all be dealt with later. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

His eyes darted back to Vadilia’s contortionist sleep. It was objectively An abysmal position to be stuck in for any length of time, but he guessed the red-haired woman hadn’t moved from that chair since plopping him in the infirmary six hours ago.

He winced in sympathy. Even tired as she was, She’d had to bandage his upper body and his broken right hand. When she shot him, the bullet had cleared his jacket and the buckshot had cut into his side and inner arm. That hadn’t been too pleasant, and in the increasing light Josonan saw a few of the cuts and gashes too minor to wrap. She’d given him some painkillers after that and a sedative to help him get some rest.

Jasonan’s head swam as he slumped against the door frame, suddenly winded just from staying upright. His right side throbbed as he limped over to the chair opposite the sleeping woman, climbing up and trying to shift his weight so the pain would be less.

Vasilia stirred slightly as it made the wood creak. 

“Why’r you here?” She grumbled roughly, more into her arm than to him. “It’s not necessary”, referring to his frequent visits. Not about the gunshot, she’d learned a few years ago to stay out of everyone’s head when they got hurt.

“Captain, with all due respect,” he said, with no amount of unkindness, “it would appear I am not the only one with a lacking commitment to self care.”  
Vasilla responded only in a grim snort, face still buried in the crook of her elbow. “Didn’t realize I was waking up to a performance review” she mused. Vasilia always believed Josonan spoke with an air far too formal for whatever the situation called for, like a valet of a hotel suite, or an exhausted man paid too little for one with his tenure. 

Which, she mused wryly, brings up a good point.

“My dear Josonan!” She drolled, sweeping her arm outward, head still on the desk, “You make an excellent point. After Yesterday, We will all be taking mandatory vacation, and you sir”, with a pointed finger directed at him, “a Significant pay raise. That Is an order.” Her arm came down once, twice, mimicking an human-antiquated judge's gavel.  
the unmistakable blip of a datapad could be heard as Josonan pulled it from his pocket.  
“Captain as always I commend you for your wisdom, and I do believe you’re right.”  
The humor grabbed her attention. She tilted her face to eye him up and down.  
He gave a small smirk before pushing the glowing screen toward her, then leaned back again.  
Vasilla moved only enough to grab the datapad and survey whatever request form Josana had deemed important enough to file the morning after their nearly imminent deaths. She hoped to any god listening that it was not his resignation.

As she read, slow realization dawned on her, and her eyes became electric with joy. Rising up despite the painful stiffness and cracking, she continued to look from the screen to Josonan, a fierce grin over taking her face.  
“Josonan, you mad dog. Congratulations”

Josonan looked at her, and beamed.

…..

Just before nightfall, Arthur woke.

He had come-to in his own bed, to his surprise, still dressed in his tarnished clothes. For a while he simply lay there, too shocked that he had lived, scared that if he acted in any way to disturb the peace, he’d find himself plunged into some other more tragic or terrifying ending. 

When that didn’t happen, he checked himself over. Lots of blood, yes, but none of it his own. In a hazy stupor he slowly stripped them off, but not even the shower seemed to break him from his thoughts.

He had almost died.  
Josonan had almost died.

After he dressed himself Arthur went out to the hull and walked. He didn’t need to find Josonan yet. He knew he was alive, and safe somewhere in the ship, likely processing an incident report with the Captain.  
He took a deep breath. The air was always much cooler here, the kind that could sink into your bones if you let it.  
Arthur didn’t know how long he sat on the railing of the great schooner in thought, thumbing circles into the top of the purple trinket he found on the table of his bedroom.

It had been 7 years and some months since he last set foot planet-side. His first return home had not been welcomed. The reason why wasn't immediately apparent to Arthur at the time, although he had vaguely remembered leaving with some amount of disdain for the scabrous place. But within days it’s open animosity towards him became clear. The Outpost had a longer memory than he, it seemed; Certainly longer than any of their bay ports - certainly longer than the years its back-water residents had left to live combined. Arthur gave a huff of laughter at that.  
Small mercies, he thought.

So of course, when he was called aboard the Rightfullwound a second time, he went happily. It only took a small amount of brown-nosing; he’d refrained from initiating any troubles with the docking staff, and maintained good humor and contact with the few crew he’d seen inland.

With the exception, of course, for Jasonan.

They had met and worked well during his first two years aboard, Arthur made sure he got along with everyone generally. But Jasonan was one of those men with a perpetual problem. He was Hypercritical, Acerbic, Impersonal - the kind of man who’d look down at you if you so much as sneezed the wrong way, or so he’d been told.

So of course, once Josonan had gotten a full contract signed and officiated with the board, he decided that teasing the man, just a little, was probably more than a little deserved.  
It was one of his few delights - one of the only true Luxuries he allowed himself. Andlit came in the form of pirate romance novels.

By all accounts it was an accident, really. One day he decided to splurge on a sale - Husbands on Horseback, 75% off... It was his lunch, and, despite the stereotype, there hadn’t been many dramatic romantic tryst opportunities in space freight collection. Nothing lascivious, just the sort of T-rated fluff usually written by and for lonely daydreamers to escape into.

He’d gotten half way through the 7th chapter- Rojero had just saved Saman from the Smithsonian Bandits- when he felt two eyes staring from across the hall. He lowered the book to find Jonanan, eyes wide, and glowing greener than he had ever seen.  
“See something you like Nan? Didn’t know you were a fan of these.” He lilted, waving the book a bit.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about” the man said in a rush, “I’ve never read anything like that in my life.” his nose scrunched slightly, face getting greener still.

“Is that so? Well I suppose not everyone enjoys the indulgence of an absolute homoerotic classic. What about Rough In The Saddle? Practically reads like Shakespeare I hear.”

“Absolutely not, N-not only is it unprofessional, But Quite frankly”, The man blurted, running one hand over his head before crossing his arms defensively, “quite frankly the fact you’d even consider that I..would even think about men-s-something so crass, is repulsive and !”  
Arthur’s laugh interrupted Josonan  
“Woah wOw Nan, Easy there...I knew you were harsh, but the Equality Department would have some words for you about that! Color me surprised.”  
Arthur raised his eyebrow and took a sip of tea. It was horribly oversteeped, but he let neither it’s bitterness or his amusement show while holding Josonan’s gaze, watching the man’s eyes widen and ears pull back. Arthur had never seen his coworker so worked up before - quite frankly he just assumed most in this business were queer in some sense of the concept, so seeing homophobia this blatant was a shock.  
“I! No that’s not!-“  
“Hey listen, you have your stuff to work on, I get it,”  
“I! It’s just-“  
“Yeah, You know, two dudes, loving men caring for each other, being there when it’s hard, it can be too much for some people.”  
“We! We will have this conversation later Mr. Arthur!!”

And so a game of indignant and petty, petty squabbles went on for months. 

"Nan, how could you, you wound me!" Arthur chided. He turned playfully to face his coworker, allowing himself a smile, but not at Jasonan, not directly. Arthur kept his gaze coyly off to one side, one hand in mock-offense where his heart would be, the other around his thermos, eagerly waiting for Jasonan’s next volley of “respectable” arguments. 

"Mr. Arthur," the man ground out, voice rising, "I don't care if you're lying about the books, but Damn it all! I-” Arthur frowned then, feeling the air shift as Jasonan took in a sharp breath, “Damn it you were the first person on this ship who ever attempted to, to not mention my status, to treat me like a person, an equal. And I had considered that perhaps we could come to an Understanding...but it has become abundantly clear you’re looking for, for what? A-an outlet? A punching bag when things get dull?”  
Arthur rolled his eyes, “Nan, One- I have no idea what you’re talking about given your? Status? I don’t know what that is, other than you just being an absolute dick at work. Two- forgive me for poking fun at the only homobigoted pirate I’ve ever met! Yeah I’m going to tease you! You’re lucky I haven’t reported anything, that shit can get you in actual trouble these days. If you weren’t so damn good at your job, or if it actually affected the crew, I would have! ...But fine. if it makes you feel better yes, I did replace all the books in the common library with gay lit- Sue me. Your Dostoyevsky will be back on the shelf tomorrow, Relax!”  
Arthur scratched absently at his arm. He wasn’t sure why he felt so nervous. He didn’t feel sorry about the little pranks but...Janonan was...Arthur could see his arms trembling by his sides, and he wasn’t even green right now he was...pale. It was the worst Arthur had ever seen him, and was about to offer the man a chair when Jasonan mumbled something.  
Arthur took a hesitating step forward, “Wh-Sorry I couldn’t-“  
The other man stared directly at him then. “I AM ‘gay’, you arrogant man.”  
Arthur felt his stomach drop, eyes wide with confusion.  
“But then?..why if you’re?...”  
“I tried to tell you before, and you refused to listen! I was..I was embarrassed, Arthur! That day in the common room I was embarrassed and-and scared; you caught me off guard! It's a complicated taboo in…I thought you....it was just a misunderstanding And the misunderstanding careened into a convenient, perfect excuse; The final lynchpin to legitimize everybody's opinions on why I don’t belong here!”  
When Jasonan continued, his voice had a shaky edge to it, a wet vocal break that felt like it physically hurt.  
“You really think you’re the only one who wants me gone Arthur? Because you’re not! The rest of the crew were here Long before you, you just made it a little easier” he shot, gesturing back to the entrance from the hull, “You think I don’t catch the looks I get in our quarters? The jokes in the canteen?? Oh no, I know Very well what you all think of me. But guess what? All my attention to detail that Keeps us Safe, Arthur. That is all I have ever wanted; and after everything I’ve had to go through, after all the work, and rejection, and strings I’ve had to pull to get here, it’s going to take a LOT more than some petty jokes or false assumptions from a Washed-out Craze-bitten Hillbilly to take it away from me.”

The scent of sulfur and methane permeated the air as silence reigned between the two. Janonan’s heavy breath slowed, trying to even itself, and was close enough to tickle the top of Arthur’s downcast head. For a second he simply stood there, eyes glued to the floor, caught so wildly unprepared by the outburst and the revelation, he might as well have been thrown over the railing and into deep space. 

"Na- Jasonan..I am-“ Arthur attempted to lift his face, to make eye contact, or take a sip from his thermos if only just to buy him time to respond. Unfortunately Jasonan was close, much closer than before, eyes staring darkly; jaw set, shoulders square. Arthur felt his heart skip.

“Ok...First,” he started, letting out a long breath, “You’re..god..I-I’m an idiot-Aand-““ he rushed, "...You..know, I mean you should know...that's not...true.. I,”  
The last part seemed to be more dribbled into his cup than spoken out loud as he took one drink, then another, attempting to muzzle himself from babbling further.

The silence stretched impossibly long. Despite his beverage Arthur’s mouth was dry, his face burning, his eyes looking anywhere except the man in front of him.  
Eventually he managed to swallow, “I will do as much as possible to...fix all of this.” He said with an uncharacteristic professionalism, turning around and heading back towards the entry hatch. “I am so sorry that I have been such a nightmare, Mr. Jasonan, really. I... I hope you can forgive me for my actions.”  
".." Jason made some noise in response, though it quickly trailed off. Arthur didn’t turn to look, but slowed, and came to a stop some feet away. "I...,” he began, using the moment to take another steadying breath,  
“...I am not someone who…lets themselves be vulnerable with others,” he stated, words forming slowly, and carefully.  
“I didn’t listen to you; It...it was easier to just hear what I wanted, to keep things assumed and superficial - and, and I'll tell you this, if it weren't for you, I'd have been dead a hundred times over a long time ago; and so would the rest of the crew. I’ve seen you at your desk at 3am pulling critical, mission-changing data for us, checking and rechecking the numbers to make sure there aren’t any hiccups for our comms team when they’re sent out. I know you work your ass off to keep things together, and Anyone who doesn’t realize that deserves to get air-locked.”  
Jasonan didn’t respond to the joke, but glancing over his shoulder Arthur saw the man’s shoulders ease slightly, gaze unreadable, resting at some middle distance between the both of them.  
Arthur felt something inside him stir, and before thinking better of it continued, “I know that it's going to be difficult to believe it, coming from me, but I'm not going anywhere, unless you need me to transfer that is; and I...well hell, life on here would be really empty without you around Nan. I never wanted... I never wanted to get rid of you.”

Silence reigned once again; The hum of generators and distant compression valves echoed ambiently and Arthur willed a blackhole to swallow him. But soon a small sigh came from behind, and a recognizable gait, one he hadn’t realized he’d grown fond of, closed the gap. 

When Jasonan spoke, it was with the same unaffected air he’d use to deliver a particularly important case review, the same cogency Arthur often tried to emulate while leaving consumer complaints, or networking with high end contacts; though he would never say so.  
“Mr. Arthur, you are absolutely insufferable. And the only crew-mate in the history of RightfullWound to ever imply that I am pleasant to be around.” After a moment he spoke again, sounding even more serious than before. “You have no idea how much I enjoyed our first year together on board. In fact, I think I might have-well.“  
Arthur’s eyes widened.  
"Regardless; for better or worse, I don’t believe either of us will be going anywhere anytime soon.”  
They stood shoulder to shoulder now, Arthur looking up to Josanan’s profile while he spoke. No line of stress, no indication at all of the altercation that had happened just a minute before broke over his rounded features.  
For the second time that day Arthur realized he’d been holding his breath, horribly aware of his pulse, how little distance there was between their arms.  
“I'm sorry,” Arthur said, voice thick and his mind desperately grasping at straws, “I didn't mean to make you feel that way. I know it was hard, or, I suppose i didn’t even realize how hard it was-” for the first time since his original apology, Jasonan looked at him. He didn't say a word.  
“I...” Arthur searched the other man's face, and when he found no give, sighed, straightened his back, and intoned with as much gravity as he could muster “You are a fantastic crewmen. I trust you with my life, and there are few people I truly trust at all. If anyone continues to give you trouble, direct them to me and I’ll take care of it.” He paused for effect, then continued “Also, I have quite a few friends in the Galactic Federation Transport Cooperative...and...and if you ever wanted to leave or, felt trapped here, I could always,” his face heated again, though he couldn’t place why, “I could always get in touch, you know, be a properly charismatic job reference for you? It is what I do after all,” He tried Punctuating this by example; Flashing his most winning smile. “One of these and you’ll be deckhand, hell Captain of whatever ship you set your eyes on. This baby here famously charmed me out of a multi-intergalactic ban for, get this, bribery charges!” He hoped the gesture was convincing, Josana glancing at him with a look difficult to decipher, but the moment quickly passed, and the ghost of a smile returned once again.  
“I see..” the man hummed thoughtfully, gaze drifting back ahead.The two walked back to the common quarter in companionable silence, Arthur’s offer left on the table.  
The quiet felt comforting this time after the emotionally fraught conversation. And as he walked next to... his friend, now, Arthur supposed, it dawned on him that he didn’t truly want an answer to the question his offer implied.  
Josonan deserved both a crew that respected him and a better position. Even on a bad day Josanan had always been the most competent one on the ship, and whether they liked the man or not, everyone knew it. It was also the least Arthur could do, knowing now the extent of harm he had caused and understanding of his crewmates...feelings. Of course it was no secret that Josonan’s particular brand of severity and high standards didn’t make him friends, but quite frankly, Arthur always assumed he didn’t care. But, no that...wasn’t true. Arthur looked askance for a moment. Jasonan tried to tell him how he felt and Arthur just...didn’t listen. A deep wrench of guilt bloomed through his gut. It was made especially potent considering that; messy of a confession as it was, somewhere between now and the last four years, Arthur had genuinely come to care for the man. Gods... he had a lot to make up for...

Arthur was shaken from his little spiral when he heard a small cough beside him.  
“So,” Janonan started, face neutral, “is that all study material for you then? Ways to charm strangers and influence foreign leaders in all those awful …”novels” you like so much? I could’ve written them off as a business expense if you mentioned they pertained to maintaining your professional skill sets...”

Arthur Half choked with an exasperated giggle.  
“My god...A joke? Someone call INSF! Who are you and what have you done with Nan??” He grinned wide, half giddy with relief, elbowing back, “But more to the point - of course! How else do you think I got on here? It’s certainly not for my feats of technical ability,” he paused for a conspiratorial wink in Jasonan’s direction, “Are you calling me charming? Is it working?”.  
Though the man wasn’t looking at him, Arthur swore he almost caught a glimpse of a smirk again.  
“Needs some work.”

“Ha, Yes... you’ve shown me that. I owe you….and you weren’t wrong in your assessment of me, by the way. I absolutely am a craze-bitten, what was it? Hillbilly?” He let out another laugh, “ you’ve got me pegged, honestly. You’re the one who deserves to be here, Nan, not me.”  
Josonan went quiet then, ghost-smirk gone, lips thinning to a line of concentration.  
“I'm afraid I must do my own apologizing, Mr. Arthur,” He said, keeping pace and straightening his back “that was...extraordinarily unprofessional of me. And incorrect”  
Arthur watched between glances as his crew-mate’s face twisted subtlety before continuing “I find your skills to be...” another pause, “Very Adequate.” Josana concluded with a slight nod of his head, coming to some unknowable Internal agreement.  
Arthur took a breath.  
“Ah, well you...you have nothing to apologize for, and...um, good. Very good. H-happy to be of service.” He mumbled intelligently.  
Josonan folded his arms behind his back, taking in a humm of consideration, “Hm, or perhaps not. Seems it might be time to order more study material Mr. Arthur; I’ll pencil it into this month's expense accounts.”  
“Not that I don’t completely deserve this - but Nan you are an absolute menace”

**Author's Note:**

> And there we go
> 
> I’m admittedly going to be updating the story later as my dialogue writing improves (I know it’s...clunky).
> 
> thank you for reading!


End file.
